According to a Gallup survey, 53% of employees are permanently making the transition to hybrid work. When done right, a hybrid office can help employers and employees achieve stronger employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall wellness.
However, going hybrid presents a unique set of challenges. For one, supporting employees’ health through corporate wellness programs is challenging when teams are on asynchronous schedules. In this blog, we’ll offer strategies you can use to design health wellness programs for a hybrid environment.
1. Tailor your wellness program to your workforce.
Each hybrid office is unique, offering different levels of structure and independence. As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to corporate wellness in a hybrid workplace. The resources you provide should align with your workforce’s primary challenges and needs. You’ll most likely need a unique combination of in-person, virtual, and mobile wellness programs.
Some ways to support wellness in a hybrid environment include:
- On-demand classes for fitness and nutrition
- Funding or other support for ergonomic work-from-home setups
- Opportunities for employees to connect with wellness professionals
- Partnerships with mobile healthcare providers like 20/20 Onsite
Most importantly, talk to your team about what opportunities they believe would benefit them. This can help you get ideas for what kind of programs to offer while also ensuring you provide programs that employees are likely to take full advantage of.
2. Clarify the benefits of these programs.
Although investments in corporate wellness programs are growing, a study cited in the Harvard Business Review finds that employees often underutilize these opportunities. One reason they found this is that employees don’t understand what resources are available to them. In fact, data shows that merely half of the employees who had access to mental wellness programs weren’t even aware of that fact.
To overcome this hurdle, teams need to do more than just invest money in obtaining these resources. They also need to invest significant time in educating employees about their wellness programs, what benefits they provide and how employees can access them. Plus, employees need to know what kind of investments they need to make to leverage these benefits –whether it’s time, money, or both.
For more insight on how to get employees involved in corporate wellness programs, read: 7 Ways to Encourage Participation in your Employee Wellness Program
3. Make wellness a team effort.
Strong communication is pivotal to success in any business, but for a hybrid team it’s even more important. Frequent, open communication keeps teams connected and engenders trust, and wellness is a great way to bring a physically disconnected team together in support of one another.
Together, teams can set goals for physical activity and remind each other to step away from their desks for a stretch break. By dedicating a Slack channel for wellness conversations or establishing regular check-ins, teams can help one another take care of their health while also taking care of themselves.
4. Provide easy-access wellness resources.
Convenience should be one of your top priorities in creating a corporate wellness program for hybrid employees. In Harvard Business Review, Carolina Valencia notes that just 23% of employees who have access to mental wellness resources use them, and that data rings true for physical wellness resources as well.
So what’s stopping employees from taking advantage of these resources? Often, they require too much time and effort. To overcome this barrier, businesses should opt for resources that are easily accessible and time-saving.
One way to provide employees with time-saving wellness opportunities is through mobile wellness exams. 20/20 Onsite brings the best vision care directly to teams using our Mobile Vision Clinic, where employees can receive an eye exam, get fitted and shop for glasses in under thirty minutes.
Support employee wellness with accessible vision care
Vision care is especially important for hybrid workers, who often spend extended hours on the computer. Regular eye exams can help employees avoid eye strain, reduce their discomfort, and maximize productivity–not to mention, improve job satisfaction! Get in touch with us today to schedule a visit from the 20/20 Onsite Mobile Vision Clinic.
As you design the best corporate wellness program for your team check out other creative benefits in our recent blog: 5 Health Benefits Trends We're Expecting in 2022.